Author Topic: 'WIDE A WAKE' a steam launch tale  (Read 233848 times)

Offline Ramon Wilson

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Re: 'WIDE A WAKE' a steam launch tale
« Reply #240 on: August 01, 2014, 11:41:03 AM »
Hi Stuart - I didn't mean the pump had not been used before - more that it had not been used to test a gas tank at the 333.5 psi required.

I appreciate your caution re testing and having the gauge checked and calibrated but that's the domain of the CBI - as far as I see it 'I'm in his hands'. There is a 'master gauge against which the gauges are checked so as long as he is happy with the outcome and he certainly goes about the business very thoroughly then I'll accept his judgement. I honestly don't have any anxiety at this point that something hasn't been done correctly so don't feel the need to question anything.

Thanks for your concern though :)

Started re-working the mahogany lagging this morning -  despite having them carefully stored somehow those workshop gremlins have got their bloody hands on three small pieces   :o

Regards - Ramon
"I ain't here for the long time but I am here for a good time"
(a very apt phrase - thanks to a well meaning MEM friend)

Offline Ramon Wilson

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Re: 'WIDE A WAKE' a steam launch tale
« Reply #241 on: August 01, 2014, 11:58:25 AM »
Hi George -  Thanks for your kind offer of help  :ThumbsUp: - however one of the decisions I've come to is to keep to Coleman 70 / 30 gas. It may be a bit dearer but it's readily available and as the boat will not be continuously sailed on a regular basis that extra cost isn't too much of a factor - besides isn't lighter fuel straight Butane? I was think of using that originally when I considered a vapourising system but having now fixed on the 70 /30 that system may not actually be used. I just made provision for that by fitting three valves 'just in case'.

Rest assured the one thing I won't be doing is filling any tank in the boat  (nor in the back of the car :o) - as I learn more about using LPG that's just to much to risk so it will be in open air. I take your point though about the overflow and excess gas but at this point I need to at least see if it's viable. Like Stuarts post previously though I do appreciate your caution and advice - thanks for your continued input

Back to the lagging :)

Regards - Ramon
"I ain't here for the long time but I am here for a good time"
(a very apt phrase - thanks to a well meaning MEM friend)

Offline K.B.C

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Re: 'WIDE A WAKE' a steam launch tale
« Reply #242 on: August 02, 2014, 12:38:26 PM »
Hi George -  Thanks for your kind offer of help  :ThumbsUp: - however one of the decisions I've come to is to keep to Coleman 70 / 30 gas. It may be a bit dearer but it's readily available and as the boat will not be continuously sailed on a regular basis that extra cost isn't too much of a factor - besides isn't lighter fuel straight Butane? I was think of using that originally when I considered a vapourising system but having now fixed on the 70 /30 that system may not actually be used. I just made provision for that by fitting three valves 'just in case'.

Rest assured the one thing I won't be doing is filling any tank in the boat  (nor in the back of the car :o) - as I learn more about using LPG that's just to much to risk so it will be in open air. I take your point though about the overflow and excess gas but at this point I need to at least see if it's viable. Like Stuarts post previously though I do appreciate your caution and advice - thanks for your continued input

Back to the lagging :)

Regards - Ramon

Ramon,
Butane burns perfectly well, I use it solely and refill my tanks from a 4.5kg bottle, purely as I use the 4.5kg bottle for all my soldering including boiler making.

If you find the 70/30 mix suitable for you, no problem!!!!

Your over flow idea will work perfectly well, just leave enough air space in the top of the tank.

George.
Your never too old to learn.

Offline Ramon Wilson

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Re: 'WIDE A WAKE' a steam launch tale
« Reply #243 on: August 07, 2014, 11:19:11 PM »
Hi Guys - Well I'm really pleased to tell that this stage of the journey is fundamentally over  ;D

Last few days have been finishing off small items and rebuilding the boiler to finished state. There is still the steam test (personal one) to carry out and before that a small block for testing the pressure gauge and safety valve needs making but the boiler itself is now  'ready to fit'.

One of the things I'd thought about 'improving' was the mahogany lagging. Since this was originally made in 1972 with lagging made from 3/8 x 1/8 strips it's been noticed on full size engines over the years that more often than not the lagging has  for some reason  a half round beading down one edge. Whether this is traditional or done for some specific reason I have no idea but I thought I would try to replicate it.

I made a simple tool from an off cut of gauge plate and bolted it to the side of a long angleplate using it as a scriber to give a groove angled toward one side. This worked extremely well and the beading was then finished off by filing the inner side and sanding the outer side to give a semblance of a half round profile




The original finish - French Polish applied as a varnish - was cut back by rubbing with wire wool after soaking the strips in methylated spirit and then each strip had Danish oil rubbed into the surface


I felt the effort, which was actually quite time consuming was well worth the end result  :)


A cover was turned from brass for the back end of the flue and fitted with a short length of tube to act as a feed water heater. The brass hex will carry a stainless deflector (the material as yet to be sourced)


The ceramic burner was removed, a diffuser fitted and new ceramic fitted.........


.......and finally the 'economiser' was plumbed to the inlet clack. I'm planning to run the hand pump direct to the boiler but the engine driven pump will run via this


At the start, particularly when those end plates were being cut out, there was a high degree of doubt in that this might not quite come off


but, as I think you will agree, it was a journey worth taking  ;)


Apart from doing a steam test on it next week it will now be put aside for a few weeks. There's another project  ;) (non ME) that is requiring some attention and then it would be good if a bit more progress on the Atomatic diesels could be made before getting back onto the launch around the end of October. Well, that's the plan today - all thing's subject to change of course  :)

That's it for tonight - thanks for looking in

Regards - Ramon
"I ain't here for the long time but I am here for a good time"
(a very apt phrase - thanks to a well meaning MEM friend)

Offline smfr

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Re: 'WIDE A WAKE' a steam launch tale
« Reply #244 on: August 07, 2014, 11:56:14 PM »
That looks fantastic, Ramon, and the wood lagging is beautiful!  :ThumbsUp: :ThumbsUp:

Simon

Online derekwarner

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Re: 'WIDE A WAKE' a steam launch tale
« Reply #245 on: August 08, 2014, 12:55:25 AM »
Yes Ramon......visually a beautiful boiler  :ThumbsUp:

It appears that you have used a combination of both RED fibre sealing washers and aluminium sealing washers

Interestingly the RED fibre is listed as providing up to 10% swell [when wet]........

Do you use the thumb or forefinger on the sheet of fine abrasive paper to size the fibre washers thickness to achieve the required alignment?
Do you also use a light LOCTITE [243?] liquid in combination with the washers?

I ended up with TEFLON sealing washers on a proprietry item.......which I found just plain silly  :hammerbash:...as TEFLON literally has no memory ...I have replaced these with fibre washers ...Derek
Derek L Warner - Honorary Secretary [Retired]
Illawarra Live Steamers Co-op - Australia
www.ils.org.au

Offline Dave Otto

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Re: 'WIDE A WAKE' a steam launch tale
« Reply #246 on: August 08, 2014, 01:08:25 AM »
Wow that's beautiful Ramon!

What a wonderful piece of craftsmanship.

Dave

Offline b.lindsey

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Re: 'WIDE A WAKE' a steam launch tale
« Reply #247 on: August 08, 2014, 01:34:12 AM »
Beautiful job on the lagging Ramon. The whole boiler looks fantastic!!

Bill

Offline Jo

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Re: 'WIDE A WAKE' a steam launch tale
« Reply #248 on: August 08, 2014, 07:42:11 AM »
That half beading does make a lot of difference to the final outcome, very nice  8)

Jo
Enjoyment is more important than achievement.

Offline Jasonb

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Re: 'WIDE A WAKE' a steam launch tale
« Reply #249 on: August 08, 2014, 07:51:40 AM »
Yery nice Ramon, your beadiong method is not that far off how small mouldings are done with a "scratch stock" and a lot more satisfying to do than using one of the miniature router cutters that are available for the 1/12 scale dolls house makers.

J

Offline Don1966

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Re: 'WIDE A WAKE' a steam launch tale
« Reply #250 on: August 08, 2014, 01:57:43 PM »
Ramon that is a awesome job and I have thoroughly enjoyed following and learning. Thanks for sharing and I like.................... I :praise2:

Don

Offline Ramon Wilson

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Re: 'WIDE A WAKE' a steam launch tale
« Reply #251 on: August 08, 2014, 01:58:28 PM »
Thanks for your comments 'Guys'  :)

Derek - yes there's a cosmopolitan selection of washers there - gauge glass fittings are with annealed copper washers of varying thickness to achieve the orientation - fibre elsewhere, thinned to suit as you rightly surmise and the odd ali - old Stuart Turner stock from long ago - but all I had in 3/16  ::). I haven't used any form of sealant at this stage - will wait until the steam test to see what transpires.

I have tested the gas tank to just short of 350 psi today - no water leaks nor pressure loss occurred  :) (no pics I'm afraid )

Remembering that somewhere I had a small brass, ex acetylene, 0 - 600psi gauge squirreled away somewhere I went on a rummage and lo and behold found not only it but a much larger (5"dia) and long forgotten 600 psi Helicoid gauge languishing in an old box of bits. Now I know the tank will need testing to a calibrated gauge in the future but this would give me a good idea so after making a manifold for testing the safety valve and boiler pressure gauge you could say I've had a 'testing' morning.

One last valve to  make - that for the Coleman tank so I can decant the gas and then I can fire her up

Regards - Ramon
"I ain't here for the long time but I am here for a good time"
(a very apt phrase - thanks to a well meaning MEM friend)

Offline Ramon Wilson

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Re: 'WIDE A WAKE' a steam launch tale
« Reply #252 on: August 10, 2014, 12:10:48 AM »
Hi Guys, just a quick update - no sailing today due to high winds so only one place to be  ;)

Made a 7/16 x 28 tpi tap from silver steel (quenched in oil - no tempering) and made a valve to fit the Coleman canister. It's design is from the Malcolm Beak combined valve and regulator - the regulator will be a separate item on the boat. The only change made was to make the threaded part from a 4BA screw as an insert rather than part of the handle. Works extremely well as long as you remember that to turn the gas off you have to 'open' the valve as it works in reverse  :-\




With that made the gas was successfully decanted from a Coleman 250 canister (which it virtually emptied) into the gas tank and tested for leaks in a bucket of 'hand hot' water. As you can see not a hint of a bubble which is better than I expected - I did think the valves might leak. What looks like a bubble on the R/H valve is in fact air trapped inside the nipple.


And yes - just in case you are wondering - the tank does have gas in it  ;)


So that's it all bar the first firing up. Tomorrow is a family get together kind of day so it will be Monday before that can happen

In the meantime thanks for looking in

Regards - Ramon

"I ain't here for the long time but I am here for a good time"
(a very apt phrase - thanks to a well meaning MEM friend)

Offline Ramon Wilson

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Re: 'WIDE A WAKE' a steam launch tale
« Reply #253 on: August 12, 2014, 10:48:52 PM »
Hi Guys - well I guess you'll be pleased to hear that this will be the last posting on this particular phase of the launch - what's that ? was that a  :whoohoo: I heard coming over the horizon :D

Today, after a slightly leaky start which required removal of some fittings to improve the seal the whole thing was given another hydraulic test to 1-1/2 times WP to check all fittings. It sat at 90 psi for half an hour or so with only a slight creep back due to a very slight weep on the gauge glass drain cock. The leaky fittings had previously had the copper washers replaced with fibre ones thinned to get the correct orientation and refitted using Rocol pipe sealant. The Riebach(?) white faced gauge glass, unfortunately the only piece available, cracked during removal so was replaced with plain but in fact this fitted the silicone seals better which is probably (seals too tight) what had caused it to crack in the first place


Already set up on the temporary base it was time to get it fired up. It was quite windy today so rather than do it outside it was kept close to the door for ventilation.


The water was drained from the full test level to around three quarter full - the water BTW was at ambient temperature straight from the rain butt, filtered but not pre-heated.....


......and finally the burner was lit and the timer set to check how long it would take to raise steam from cold. The heat coming from the chimney was minimal - at 8-9" above hardly any heat at all could be felt and about 2-1/2" above just at the point of being too hot for a hand to remain there for long. I took it from this then that most of the heat was being absorbed by those water tubes as hoped for.


The burner performed well, and with a good, vaguely orange flame which could be observed reasonably well through those secondary air holes. At one point, about 5-10 mins in, it began to 'yowl', not particularly noisy but with a potential to be irritating but within a few more minutes that had disappeared completely and it until ran the gas ran out without reoccurring.
At about 25mins the safety valve began to issue a faint whiff of steam but it did not 'blow' until 33 mins had elapsed. I took this pic to record the time but the steam though issuing quite freely has not been captured.


With the boiler up to pressure the burner was backed off and the main valve opened and the old Double Ten got it's first taste of steam for some forty years  ;D




Opening that plug cock a bit too quickly it roared into life on 60 psi but, once throttled back, it turned over steadily enough at a fast pace for the next 20 mins or so (I'd stopped the clock after the SV popped  ::)  before the gas ran out.

I don't have any parameters to go by so would welcome any thoughts on how long it should take to raise steam from cold. We have dedicated kettles for pre boiling water at the club but with just on 2-1/2 litres of water to boil and fill through a funnel thoughts are running more to a secondary, external, gas tank to get the water up to temperature then switching to the on board gas tank to get a much longer run.

Well guys, that really is the end of the road of this phase - it's taken a bit longer than I thought so my thanks to all those who've stayed the course and helped with advice, input or just being there.
To that I must add a truly special thanks to Sandy whose personal help on this from the start would really have to be received to be appreciated - Sandy I am forever indebted for your knowledge and expertise, your input and advice that you have given, so freely, throughout this rebuild.

It's time for a break - as mentioned previously I need to catch up on some outstanding non ME stuff but I hope to be back on the Atomatics in a few weeks time in order to make some progress on them before getting back onto the launch around the end of October.

Oh yes - just in case you've forgotten what it looked like I simply couldn't resist doing this  ;)



Those who've seen it tell me "its a big boiler" but it gets a bit lost in there as yet.

Hope you've enjoyed this as much as I have sharing it

Regards for now - Ramon

"I ain't here for the long time but I am here for a good time"
(a very apt phrase - thanks to a well meaning MEM friend)

Offline Robert Hornby

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Re: 'WIDE A WAKE' a steam launch tale
« Reply #254 on: August 12, 2014, 11:26:47 PM »
Ramon,
Thank you, thank you, thank you, what a wonderful job you have done with your boiler and with the photos and descriptions. The section on the burner issues will be of special interest to me as I am rapidly approaching my burner build (although not for a few months as I am in the middle of dismantling the work shop in preparation of a relocation) Also your experience with the gas tank interests me very much as I would like to do this also.
So all in all, an excellent job well done. Congratulations. :cheers:
Robert
Age and treachery will always overcome youth and skill

 

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